#f.ounders

Tech conferences have become serious business, and not only for organizers. Last weekend's F.ounders conference in Dublin is the most recent example. As European countries hustle to prove themselves most worthy of entrepreneurial attention and the economic growth it portends, conferences are a major way to announce candidacy. And Ireland did that in a big way over Halloween weekend.

Great production values, high-powered speakers and cameo appearances from some of Europe's best and brightest inside and outside of tech have raised the bar for the tech scene across the pond.

In the end it was a conference that lived up to, and even exceeded, the hype. F.ounders was a fantastically executed three days of events, chat and hospitality that delivered a networking experience unparalleled in Europe.

Ben Parr, the editor-at-large for tech blog Mashable called it “the best conference I have ever attended”.

But this was not merely a conference for geeks to schmooze, it was also the most political tech conference in Europe with a clear message delivered directly, and in person, from the heart of the Irish state: Ireland is the place in Europe to do tech business.

Short of resurrecting William Butler Yeats, James Joyce and Oscar Wilde to discuss the Easter Uprising, F.ounders was about as Irish an event as it was possible to hold.

Wooing of entrepreneurs has become a serious business for European politicians. This month the British government pulled out one of their trump cards, the Royal Family, and hosted a reception for U.K. start ups in no lesser place than Buckingham Palace. Next month is the anniversary of the launch of London’s Tech City initiative; princes and prime ministers are likely to feature prominently.